


the edge of something beautiful

by meggiewrites



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: (kinda), Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Sharing a Bed, This is incredibly cheesy I apologize, Weddings, meddling family members
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 19:11:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14921229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggiewrites/pseuds/meggiewrites
Summary: Thomas' cousin is getting married. Why he asks Manuel of all people to be his plus one, the latter doesn't quite know. Especially when his whole family seems to be convinced that they are more than friends.Which of course, isn't helped by the fact that Manuel has a raging crush on his teammate.





	the edge of something beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> 'I won't write anymore Neuller for a while' I said. 'I don't have time to write at the moment' I said. Well. GUESS WHAT
> 
> ..... anyway. This is most likely the most cheesy and cliched thing I've ever written? Somehow, it was really fun to write either way.  
> Thanks to Sevde for being an enabler as usual (Lov you) Unbeta'd, so I hope there won't be too many mistakes. Enjoy!

For Manuel, the request had come somewhat out of the blue.

“Can’t you ask Lisa?”

Thomas pulled a face. “No, she’s got this tournament in Austria that could really boost her career. Also, I don’t want my family to get the wrong impression, you know. And they’re likely to get one when I show up to my cousin’s wedding with my ex-wife in tow.”

He wasn’t wrong about that, Manuel guessed, even though everyone knew Thomas and Lisa were still pretty much best friends – but there was no way Thomas’ Bavarian great-aunts would believe that. “Then why do you even need a plus one?”

“Well, it’s not like I thought I wouldn’t find anyone. A good excuse to spend three days at an all-inclusive hotel in one of the most beautiful spots in the Alps, free food? I really thought I’d find a taker with the first person I asked.”

Manuel tilted his head “How many people _have_ you asked?”

Thomas looked at him questioningly, before sniffing, rubbing his nose. “I can’t believe you think you wouldn’t be the first. You’re one of my best friends, idiot. Also,” he admitted, “most of my outside-of-football circle are already invited. And I know that Mats is busy during that time.”

Manuel snorted. Of course, once again, he was only second choice after one Mats Hummels. Though to be fair, it sounded like a pretty sweet deal. The last season had been rough on them, and spending some time away from everything? It was quite tempting. “Won’t people stare at me weirdly?”

That only prompted a snort from Thomas. “Yeah, because you’re an actual giant maybe; or because how crazy you get when you’re drunk – no, of course they won’t. And if some random dickhead or another starts fangirling on you – because trust me, they’ve all seen my mug enough not to make a big deal out of it – I promise you I’ll be there to hold your hand when they ask you for selfies.” He shot him a toothy grin.

“Um.” Manuel hesitated, fidgeting with his sleeves. There was a question pressing at the back of his mind, but there really wasn’t an easy way to ask it, not without feeling his heart clench. He cleared his throat. “Isn’t there anyone else you want to ask? Someone you like?”

With most people he knew, he probably would have to elaborate as he tended to swallow half of his sentences when he was vaguely uncomfortable, but Thomas knew him better than almost everyone, more than able to make sense of his mumbling, and being able to pick up that the liking he was talking about wasn’t of the platonic sort. They way he understood him without words was one of the things Manuel loved most about him.

Surprisingly, Thomas didn’t answer with another quip this time, but instead he tapped his finger on Manu’s leg, giving him a smile that was soft, smaller than his usual wide grin.

“I’d love to have you there, Manu. Really.”

And that was that.

 

Switzerland was beautiful. Granted, Manuel had both been there before and knew that one single area was in no way representative of an entire country (even one as small as this one) but anyway. The location the happy couple had chosen for the wedding was stunning; the small hotel they were staying at was a neo-victorian villa, surrounded by the mountains. The roughly fifty guests occupied pretty much every room for the next couple days, so it was very much a private event. Occasionally, a bunch of hikers would passed by during the daytime, but in the evening, everything was quiet.

Manuel was sitting on the stairs to the big porch with a cup of tea, looking out on the snow-topped mountain ridges when Thomas plopped down next to him with a groan. Since he was one of the groomsmen, he had been busy with rehearsals the whole afternoon since the moment they arrived, whereas Manu had been able to take the time to explore the beautiful area surrounding the hotel.

“Everything alright?” he asked when Thomas tipped back his head, closing his eyes.

It got surprisingly chilly at night, Manuel had noticed. Though, at 2000 meters altitude, that was to be expected. But right now, having been sitting outside for an hour, he already regretted not bringing his jacket from upstairs.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just forgot how exhausting weddings were. Or can be, more like. I don’t remember mine being that big of a deal.” He paused. “Have you been up to the room yet?”

Ah yes, the room.

Thomas’ family had been surprisingly accepting of him. Sure, he’d already known Thomas’ parents and brother, had met them several times before, but even the rest of them hadn’t batted an eyelid when he’d arrived with Manuel in tow. Thomas’ mother had hugged tighter than she’d had her two own sons, and when his aunt – the mother of the groom – had handed out room keyes, he hadn’t been surprised when there was only one key for him and Thomas.

She’d almost looked a bit apologetic. “I know you’re used to single rooms, but this is a small hotel and beds are limited … and I figured you wouldn’t mind either way, considering ...” Then she’d coughed before quickly moving on to the next room.

Manuel didn’t mind, of course; he’d shared a room with his teammates dozens of times. Even if, admittedly, at Bayern or the National Team, that’d never been the case, so he’d never shared one with Thomas; but he still wondered what she’d wanted to say.

What that was had become clear as soon as Manuel had opened the door. There was only one bed.

Which again, shouldn’t be a issue, except that yeah, there were two minor little problems. The first being that a normal-sized double bed was decidedly too small for two guys over six feet like him and Thomas, so that if by sheer miracle neither of them would fall out during the night, they were likely to wake up tangled up in each other. Which quickly lead to the second problem: Manuel’s raging crush on his teammate. Which obviously, Thomas didn’t know about. Which in turn, would likely lead to a very awkward waking up.

He coughed, avoiding to look Thomas in the eyes. “Yeah, I’ve brought up our luggage.”

Thomas grinned, slapping his shoulder. “Good man! Thanks.”

Manuel did his hardest not to blush – it would be stupid to blush at a simple thank you, he chastised himself; but he felt his cheeks heat up nevertheless.

 

Dinner proved to be a quite relaxed occasion. Right now, everyone was still dressed in their everyday clothes – some even showed up still wearing their hiking outfits – so Manuel didn’t feel embarrassed about showing up in his sweatpants, even if Thomas was wearing jeans and a button up. The shirt was light blue and had small daisies printed all over it, which should look ridiculous, but in typical Thomas fashion, the younger man managed to pull it off just by concentrated charisma and sheer willpower.

He looked great, Manuel thought, admiring the way Thomas’ pants hugged his skinny legs, blushing a bit when his friend caught his eyes as he was letting them roam over his body.

They were seated next to each other, of course, and Manuel despite the awkwardness he’d felt around him ever since admitting this crush to himself, was glad for it. He’d never been the most sociable person, usually feeling stiff and uncomfortable when having to talk to new people for an extended length of time. So considering he knew no one in this wedding party apart from Thomas’ parents and his brother, he let out a breath of relief when a waitress lead them to a table in the corner where they were already waiting, directing them to two empty seats.

Apart from Thomas’ close family, there were also two old ladies sitting with them, as well as one guy who looked a lot like his dad, who Thomas immediately introduced as his great-aunts and his uncle.

“So you’re Manuel?” the thinner of the two aunts asked. “I think I’ve seen you before, have we met?”

Thomas laughed. “He plays football with me, Aunt Lydia. You probably saw him on TV.”

“Oh?” She tilted her head. She almost looked like a little bird. “Are you any good?”

Leaning back in his chair, Thomas was grinning. “He’s just our team captain. Of the National Team, too, in fact.”

Aunt Lydia turned back to Manuel, squinting her eyes, before forming her mouth into an o-shape. “Oh, you’re the Neuer boy! Excuse me, my eyes aren’t the best anymore. He’s a handsome one though, isn’t he, Thomas?”

Manuel felt himself blushing again when that made Thomas grin even wider, and even more so when the other aunt – Marta, if he remembered correctly – was quick to agree.

Thankfully, the rest of the dinner passed by quickly uneventfully, apart from the fact that Simon kept shooting the two of them curious glances and that Aunt Marta developed a liking for occasionally winking at Manuel which made him mildly uncomfortable. Somehow, he was glad when Thomas excused them, even if it caused his aunts to giggle, pawing at each other.

 

“I’ll take the left side,” Thomas stated as soon as they entered the room, giving their bed no more than a fleeting glance.

The room was small, which made sense considering how old the house was, but really there was hardly space to walk by each other without bumping into each other. A single closet whose door creaked as Manuel opened it, stood in the corner, and he hung up his hoodie before starting to neatly arrange the rest of his clothes.

He only turned around when Thomas suddenly had become unusually quiet. “Is something the matter?”

Thomas chewed on his bottom lip. “Did you have a good time? I know my family can be a tad … overwhelming.”

Manuel shook his head, getting a small smile in return before he went back to folding his clothes. He heard the sheets rustle on the bed.

“Well then come to bed, I can’t sleep if you hover around there in the corner like an axe murderer,” Thomas said.

Closing the closet door with a snort, Manuel joined him on the bed. It creaked under his weight and his toes were hanging over the edge. And as suspected, it brought him closer to Thomas than he’d ever wanted to. (Actually, a traitorous voice in his head whispered, this is exactly as close as you always want to be to him. Closer even.)

He turned onto his back with a sigh as Thomas switched off the bedside lamp, trying to drive the image of him cuddling with his teammate and crush as far away as possible.

He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he woke up with a gasp.

After quickly blinking his eyes for a few times, slightly disoriented before remembering where he was, he realized that he was laying on his stomach, his right arm dangling over the edge, with a heavy weight leaning against his back. He froze when he felt hot breath hitting his shoulder, an arm haphazardly thrown over his waist, the skinny leg wrangled in between his own.

There was only one blanket, so really, Manuel should have expected this, but instead, he started to hyperventilate. Quickly, he shoved the blanket off, freeing himself from Thomas’ grasp before sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands gripping the wooden frame.

“Manu?” Thomas’ voice was rough like a cat’s tongue, slow with drowsiness.

Manuel took a ragged breath.

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

And with that, he fled.

 

The second day was filled to the brim with group activities. Starting with a communal breakfast slash brunch, they soon were split into smallish groups by Thomas’ aunt, who agreed to go on individual hikes to the forest and even down to edge of the glacier. Manuel of course took care that he was in the same one with Thomas, earning a wide grin from his friend.

The hike was beautiful, the pine forest affording much-needed shade from the heat of the day, the wind coming up for the glacier cold, refreshing.

They had ended up in the group that was going for the longest tour, and Manuel, with his long legs and seemingly endless stamina, was one of the ones walking right at the front while Thomas was busy joking around with his brother in the back. Just behind Manuel was a woman maybe his age, who, as he quickly remembered, was in fact the bride-to-be.

They hadn’t been formally introduced yet, so he offered her his hand, almost falling over his feet in the process because he stopped paying attention to the rocky trail for a second, startling a laugh out of her.

“Be careful!” she chuckled, “I don’t want my wedding to be responsible for breaking the best goalkeeper in the world.”

Manuel grumbled something unintelligible before wiping his hands on his pants, offering her a crooked grin.

Her name was Sophie, he learned, and despite his initial awkwardness he found that she was great to talk to and that her calm, deep voice blended almost seamlessly with the trees surrounding them. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem all that stressed about the wedding.

“Tobi and I have been going out since we were in school. He’s an interior designer, so really he has been the one fretting over all the wedding preparations. I mostly had to pick out the dress, and apart from that,” she shrugged.

Manuel nodded, but then once again almost stumbled when she hit him with her next sentence.

“So what about you and loverboy? I mean, Thomas implied a while ago that there might be someone he might have his eyes on, and we all made our assumptions considering that he was adamant about not offering a name or pronouns of that certain someone, but I certainly didn’t expect him to show up with an actual boyfriend in tow. Especially not a boyfriend who’s just as high profile as himself.”

For a second, Manuel could only at her, struggling for words. “He – we …. What?”

Sophie tilted her head, seemingly confused, so he took a deep breath.

“Thomas and I aren’t dating! He really only asked me to come along because he didn’t feel like showing up on his own.”

The bride-to-be let out a “huh” before smacking her lips, staring out at the mountain ridge in front of them before she turned back to him. “Are you sure about that?”

“Positive,” Manuel shot her a weirded-out look, “I’m pretty sure I’d know if I was dating one of my best friends.”

He only got another quizzical glance in return.

On their way back to the hotel, they didn’t exchange another word, and after about half an hour and a few more strange looks, Manuel decided he had enough.

He let himself fall back, joining Thomas and Simon who were by now adamantly discussing the use of Nordic Walking sticks for hikers. The grin Thomas shot him as a greeting was blinding, and he didn’t hesitate to throw his arms around Manuel’s shoulders, pulling him for a side hug but not letting go after that while still continuing his conversation.

Normally, Manuel would have been more than happy with just being this close to him, his heart bouncing excitedly as it always did when Thomas was near; but now, he wondered if they might be giving off the wrong impression.

Football players were a cuddly bunch per definition, and to people who weren’t used to their amounts of affection, sure, it might seem strange that they more often than not physically leaned on each other, were holding onto each other’s shoulders or waists all the time, so it wasn’t like he didn’t see where Sophie was coming from.

But the worst part was, of course, the longing that her statement had lighted in his stomach.

He had never gotten his hopes up. Not when he’d first realized he’d fallen for Thomas, not even when the younger one amicably decided on a split with Lisa. He didn’t even know if Thomas was interested in guys, and the fact that there was apparently someone else? Well, he’d always thought the phrase ‘my heart is breaking’ to be a bit of a cliche, but now, it really did feel like someone had shattered his heart into pieces. Especially when, apparently, they did make for a believable couple.

Suddenly and furiously, he yanked Thomas’ arm away from his shoulder, taking a few long strides to get away from him as quickly as possible. Sophie called after him as he power-walked past her, his vision brimming with tears. Luckily, he’d always had quite a good sense of orientation, finding the way back to the hotel even without a map. Only when he turned around, dumping his string bag on the ground as soon as he’d reached the entrance door, did he realized how fast he must have been – the rest of the group was nowhere in sight.

With a sigh, he made the trek up to the room, the receptionist shooting him a weird look. When he run his hand over his face, he realized there were stains of tears drying on his face. His chuckle was pained. Appearing like an emotional teenager in front of stranger was really the last thing he’d wanted. He wrenched the key into the hole – the hotel used the old-fashioned ones instead of key cards – cursing when it wouldn’t immediately open.

When had he allowed this stupid crush to break down his foundations like that, crumbling him? If he was being honest, with himself, he felt like a mess. Had felt like that for months, and this trip only made it worse; the conclusion that he should have known better than to agree to it, unsurprisingly, didn’t help at all.

 

He didn’t join the rest of the party for dinner service that night, instead he holed himself up in the small hotel library which was certainly the last place Thomas would look for him, while leaving his phone on the bedside table in their room so he couldn’t be reached.

Busying himself with a book about local flora and fauna, he curled up in one of the antique armchairs, only quickly peeking outside when he heard the rest of the boys leave for the stag night.

His sighed when his heart dropped, scoffing at the realization that he’d actually hoped for Thomas to find him. No matter how much he was dreading the confrontation, he still missed seeing that mischievous smile whenever they were apart.

It was dark outside when he finally made the trek back to their room. He hadn’t expected for Thomas to be back yet, so he froze when instead, he found the forward leaning against the window sill, mustering Manuel intently as he closed the door behind him with trembling fingers.

“Where have you been?” His tone wasn’t accusing. Instead, he sounded more concerned.

Manuel gulped. “In the library,” he said quietly.

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “Found anything interesting to read?” He paused when Manuel didn’t answer, turning his head to stare out of the window before looking back at him.

“Why did you run off?”

Manuel fidgeted, staring at the wall behind him. It took a moment until he’d managed to gather the words in his head, forming them into actual sentences. His voice was louder than he intended to when he finally opened his mouth.

“Why would you bring here when there is someone else you’d rather take? You told me there wasn’t!”

He hadn’t meant for that to sound as harsh as it did.

Thomas looked confused. “There isn’t.”

Manuel huffed. “Then why does your cousin’s fiancée think I’m your boyfriend? Why would you imply that you’ll bring your partner and then bring me? To make fun of me?!”

“I didn’t. Of course I didn’t want to make fun of you, Manuel. But I guess I should have known my family would twist it like that; they’re a very gossipy bunch.”

Manuel sighed, all energy suddenly draining out of him. “But there is someone, isn’t there. Someone you like.”

For a second, Thomas looked almost a bit hurt, then, he shook his head with a disbelieving chuckle before pushing himself away from the window sill, taking a few steps towards where Manuel was still standing by the door.

His hand felt cold on Manuel’s cheek. His eyes were bright, so bright in the dim lighting of the room, plunging right into Manuel’s soul.

“Of course there is,” he whispered. “And I’m positive he likes me back. I think he has liked me for even longer than I’ve liked him.”

Manuel blanked; it was as if his mind had been emptied the second Thomas had uttered that first ‘him’.

The younger man only chuckled, thumbing over Manuel’s cheekbone gently. “He’s one stubborn, oblivious idiot though, so I really thought this could be the push we need.”

“Manu, he’s standing right in front of me.”

The gasp that escaped Manuel’s lips resonated loudly in the utter silence of the room, but then, slowly, he leant down before pressing their lips together with a fervour that he didn’t know he was capable of.

The kiss tasted like salt, like relief and just so much like Thomas that it made Manuel’s head spin. When he eagerly licked over Thomas’ lips, the forward pulled away, grinning as he cupped Manuel’s face in his hands, pulling his head down to lean their foreheads together.

“Easy, tiger. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

 

The next day, waking up with Thomas’ arms around him didn’t feel confining any longer. Instead, with a happy sigh, Manuel snuggled back into the tight embrace, burying his nose in Thomas’ chest, smiling when he felt a kiss being pressed on his hair.

“Finally awake, sleepyhead?”

“Mhmm.” He turned around with a yawn, letting his grin growing wider when he was faced with a smirking Thomas. “Hey,” Manuel said, leaning forward to peck those beloved lips once, twice, three times before sighing happily, nudging their noses together, closing his eyes again.

He yelped when Thomas gave his butt a little slap, his eyes flying open, shooting him an offended look.

Thomas laughed quietly as he shoved off the blankets, untangling their limbs.

“It’s already 11am. If we want to be on time for brunch and the wedding preparations, we should get a move on.”

Manuel rolled onto his back with a tired groan. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

As he rummaged through their closet, Thomas only huffed. “Has no one ever told you that you sleep like a bear during hibernation? Also,” he stopped, “you looked just too adorable.”

And before Manuel could protest that he very much didn’t, thank you, look anything of the sort, he had shoved some clothes into his face.

 

Thomas’ aunts were grinning when they walked down the stairs holding hands.

“I knew it!” Marta cooed, exchanging a sneaky look with Lydia, “I was sure I must have heard wrong when dear Sophie told me yesterday that you two weren’t a pair.”

Thomas waved her off with a grin, ushering the two away to the dining room, giving Manuel an apologetic smile as he looked over his shoulder. Manuel couldn’t help but grin back of course, already missing the weight of Thomas’ hand in his.

As expected, Thomas’ mother didn’t bat an eyelid when he insisted to re-introduce Manuel – officially, as his boyfriend – chuckling and saying that she’d been expecting it from the second they got out of the car together. Simon only rolled his eyes at them, uttering something like “as if that wasn’t obvious” and his father patted Manuel on the back and insisted on calling him ‘son’ for the rest of the day, visibly taking joy in how embarrassed Manuel got every time.

All in all, the following wedding ceremony could only be described as absolutely beautiful. The couple got married against the beautiful backdrop of the mountains, illuminated by the setting sun, the food was delicious, the speeches hilarious.

By the time the bride got ready to throw the bouquet, Manuel hadn’t moved from his place by Thomas’ side for hours, relishing the fact that not only could he now hold his hand whenever he wanted to, but that here, in this small party of maybe fifty people, they had nothing to hide – he wasn’t delusional, he knew that this feeling wouldn’t last forever, but nevertheless, he couldn’t recall ever having been happier.

Manuel was already tipsy, and he laughed heartily when Thomas pushed his way in between all the young ladies lining up to catch the bouquet. And just as much was he surprised when instead, the flowers were sent flying exactly in his direction.

He cursed his goalkeeper instincts as he grabbed for them before they could reach the floor, his cheeks flushing as everyone started to cheer.

Thomas sauntered up to him, mustering him for a moment with a slanted grin, considering, before leaning in, swiftly pecking his lips.

“Looks like it might not be too long until _we_ have a wedding to plan, my dear.”

And even if he was kidding, the butterflies in Manuel’s already fluttering stomach started doing somersaults.

 

**Author's Note:**

>   * Honestly, sorry for the cheesiness!!
>   * The hotel and location is actually based on the place where I've been spending one week every summer for the past fifteen years or so. Truly once of the most beautiful spots of earth I've been to so far
>   * I kinda ignored the fact that Manu is married just because I don't think anyone would have so readily accepted him if he was officially married to a woman. Sorry
>   * Title from the OneRepublic song _Stranger Things_
>   * I write FICTION about real people. None of this is intended to harm them or their reputation in any way
> 

> 
> Please leave kudos and maybe a comment if you liked it! | [tumblr](http://manuelmueller.tumblr.com/)


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